Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a catheter assembly having at least two balloon catheters which are mounted in a longitudinally overlapping manner in a guide catheter assembly. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a bifurcated stent delivery catheter and a method of preparing the same. The catheter of the present invention presents an improvement over known prior bifurcated stent delivery catheters, by providing a catheter assembly with a more circular cross-section than that of known prior bifurcated stent delivery systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is a procedure which is well established for the treatment of blockages in the coronary arteries. Blockages may occur from cholesterol precipitation on the coronary wall which may be in any stage from initial deposit through aged lesions. Coronary arteries may also become blocked due to formation of thrombus.
The most widely used form of percutaneous coronary angioplasty makes use of a dilatation balloon catheter which is introduced into and advanced through a lumen or body vessel until the distal end thereof is at a desired location in the vasculature. Once in position across a lesion site, the expandable portion of the catheter, or balloon, is inflated to a predetermined size with a fluid at relatively high pressures, to radially compress the atherosclerotic plaque of the lesion against the inside of the artery wall and thereby dilate the lumen of the artery. The balloon is then deflated to a small profile so that the dilatation catheter may be withdrawn from the patients vasculature and blood flow resumed through the dilated artery.
In angioplasty procedures of the kind described above, there may be restenosis of the artery, which either necessitates another angioplasty procedure, a surgical by-pass operation, or some method of repairing or strengthening the area. To reduce restenosis and strengthen the area, a physician can implant an intravascular prosthesis for maintaining vascular patency, such as a stent, inside the artery at the lesion.
Expandable, implantable medical devices such as stents are utilized in a number of medical procedures and situations as are stent delivery assemblies. As such, their structure and function are well known. A stent is a generally cylindrical prosthesis introduced via a catheter into a lumen of a body vessel in a configuration having a generally reduced diameter and then expanded to the diameter of the vessel. The stent may be self-expanding, such as a NITINOL shape memory stent, or it may be expandable by means of an inflatable portion of the catheter, such as a balloon. In its expanded configuration, the stent supports and reinforces the vessel walls while maintaining the vessel in an open, unobstructed condition.
Some stents have been developed specifically to address the problems that arise in the treatment of stenoses at or near the site of a bifurcation of a body lumen are known in the art. Further, single bifurcated stents and grafts have been developed in order to treat such conditions at the site of a branch of a body lumen. A bifurcated stent and/or graft typically comprises a tubular body or trunk and two tubular legs. Examples of bifurcated stents are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,004 to Dereume et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,071 to MacGregor, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,735 to Richter, et al.
Various techniques have been used to deliver multiple prostheses in order to provide radial support to both a main blood vessel, and contemporaneously to side branches of the blood vessel. Examples of catheters for use in treating bifurcated lumens or delivery systems for bifurcated stents, are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,735 to Dorros, U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,924 to Shaknovich, U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,825 to Fischell, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,724 to Goicoechea et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,738 to Lashinski et al. As maybe seen from these references, in most bifurcated stent delivery systems, the bifurcated stent is mounted on a catheter assembly which comprises essentially two balloon catheters mounted in a guide catheter assembly.
In advancing a catheter equipped with an inflation expandable stent, particularly a bifurcated stent, through a body vessel to the deployment site, there are a number of important considerations. Of particular importance to the present invention is the shape and size of the cross-sectional xe2x80x9cprofilexe2x80x9d of the catheter and stent. The profile of a catheter is the outer diameter (OD) of the catheter and the associated stent, as well as, the shape of the catheter""s cross-section.
One way in which a catheter may be provided with a reduced profile is by providing the balloon portion of the catheter with a folded arrangement which provides an overall reduction in diameter in at least one axis. Many balloon folding configurations are know. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,172 to Fischell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,380 to Butaric et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,745 to Abele et al. each describe various methods of folding the balloon of a balloon catheter.
In addition to providing a balloon catheter with a reduced diameter, a catheter assembly having a profile which is round or substantially circular in cross-section is also desirable, as the round shape largely corresponds to the shape of the various vessels through which the assembly is advanced. A substantially circular assembly may be easier to manipulate within the body as the shape of the assembly is less likely to interfere with or be interfered by the vessel walls.
In most cases, an individual catheter regardless of the OD, may have a profile which is substantially circular in shape throughout the length of the catheter. In the case of a catheter assembly for use in treating a bifurcated lumen however, such xe2x80x9cbifurcated cathetersxe2x80x9d may in fact employ two individual balloon catheters stacked upon one another within a guide catheter assembly. Such a stacked configuration of circular catheters will result in a catheter assembly having an ellipsoid or oval shaped cross-sectional profile, such as is depicted in prior art FIG. 1.
It is also known that typical balloon catheters employ inflatable portions or balloons which have wrapping configurations to provide the balloon with a round profile. As may be seen in FIG. 1, the resulting stacked balloons of the two balloon catheters will also have the undesirable oval shaped profile.
The oval shape of prior bifurcated catheters and/or stent delivery systems affects the ease and ability of the dilatation catheter to pass through a guide catheter, the coronary arteries, and across a lesion. In addition, such non-round shapes may be prone to interfere with and even damage vessel walls as the assembly is advanced through and manipulated therein.
In order to prevent potential harm to the vasculature and to provide a bifurcated stent delivery system which is more easily manipulated and used, the present invention provides for a catheter assembly for use in the treatment of a bifurcated lumen wherein at least a portion of the assembly has a more rounded cross-sectional profile than assemblies previously available.
All US patents, applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
This invention provides for a bifurcated catheter assembly wherein at least a portion of the assembly has a substantially circular cross-sectional profile.
The present invention is directed to a catheter assembly for treatment of a bifurcated lumen. The assembly has a proximal end and a distal end with a pair of balloon catheters extending therebetween. Each of the balloon catheters employs a shaft and an inflatable portion. At least a portion of the assembly having a circular cross-section.
By providing a circular cross-section to at least a portion of the assembly, the assembly may be more easily manipulated and advanced through the vasculature of the body. In addition, where a portion of the distal end of the assembly is provided with a substantially circular cross-section, the assembly may be made to be more readily inserted into a similarly shaped vessel or lumen, than previous assemblies having ellipsoid or oval shaped profiles.
In at least one embodiment of the invention, each of the shafts of the individual balloon catheters has a shape which when held in adjacent proximity to one another provides the shaft portion of the assembly with a substantially circular cross-section.
In at least one embodiment of the invention, at least a portion of each of the shafts is provided with an oval or D-shaped profile.
In at least one embodiment of the invention, the catheter assembly utilizes a novel method for folding and/or arranging the balloons of the individual catheters to provide an assembly which has a more round cross-sectional profile than previously known.
In at least one embodiment of the invention the inflatable portions or balloons of the balloon catheters may be folded in a complimentary configuration which provides for the desired substantially circular cross-sectional profile. The balloons may be folded in a variety of manners which provide at least a portion of the distal end of the assembly with the substantially circular cross-section.
In at least one embodiment of the invention the assembly may include a stent disposed about at least a portion of the inflatable portions of the catheters. The stent may be a standard tubular stent or it may be bifurcated.